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From colourful anime designs to awesome 3-D creations, exciting things are going on in the drinkable art world of Japan. Now, there’s a new trend that’s melting our hearts: latte art in adorable take-home designs. Created by a marshmallow company in Nagano Prefecture, the range includes cute cats and fluffy cat paws that gradually dissolve into 2-D latte artworks. The only skill you’ll need for these is an ability to stand the cuteness!

This is your Throwback Thursday article of the week, your peek into the archives of RocketNews24 featuring articles from back when we were just getting started. We’d hate for you to miss any of the quality quirky news from Asia and Japan just because you recently stumbled upon our site. And if you’re a devout RN24 reader, thanks for sticking around! Enjoy this blast from the past! 

(Originally published on June 29, 2013)

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The specialist marshmallow shop, Yawahada, started the feline craze with their sweet, spongy cat paws. Cleverly designed so that little pink toes poke through the frothy surface of your drink, these come in three varieties, for use in milk teas, green tea matcha lattes, and hot cocoas.

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Even the back of the paw pads receive special attention to detail! While the online store produces edible and drinkable paws, the ones for hot drinks have a stronger flavour.

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The true magic happens when the paws begin to melt into your drink. Slowly, a unique cup of paw art appears!

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After the success of their cute paw pads, the company decided to bring out some cat marshmallows to be eaten as sweets.

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While the company designed these marshmallows to be eaten, and not put into hot drinks, they found that a lot of their foreign customers couldn’t resist the temptation to pop the sleeping cats into hot cocoa.

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While the sleeping cats looked adorable on land, in liquid they looked rather unfortunate. The company received comments from customers about sad-looking drowned kitties!

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After realising the demand for cats in cocoa, the company set about designing a more water-friendly kitty. And what they came up with was truly spectacular. Say hello to “Cafe Cat”, finally released in February this year.

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If you can’t bear to see your cat dissolve into a 2-D face, then simply keep him in the fridge before using!

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Cat marshmallows can be bought separately or in specially packaged sets. The Cafe Cat & Paw box is available for 840 yen (US$8.50).

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To top off all these purr-fect pleasures, the company is also taking suggestions from customers for new design ideas! We have a feeling this is only the beginning for the small shop that believes “life is like a box of marshmallows”. When the marshmallows are cats that float in your hot cocoa, you know life is good.

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While the company only ships within Japan, you can contact them at their online store or through their Facebook page for more details.

Sources: Marshmallow Shop Yawahada, Marshmallow Shop Yawahada Facebook page, Excite News Japan, Neko san